


It's All Strategy

by candytreedepartment



Category: Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Heather Is In Denial, Love/Hate, One Shot, Yes I'm Writing a Total Drama Fic In The Good Year 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26906767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candytreedepartment/pseuds/candytreedepartment
Summary: Heather invites Alejandro to first class for strategic reasons, and totally isn't deeply in love with him.Set after Rapa Phooey! but before Alejandro committed terrible Photoshop acts in Awwww, Drumheller.
Relationships: Alejandro Burromuerto/Heather
Comments: 7
Kudos: 23





	It's All Strategy

_I'm not in love._

Heather grips the arms of the first class chair until her knuckles go white. She invited Alejandro to first class with her after she had won the Easter Island challenge, and this is the first time they will be truly alone. No cameras, no Chris breathing down their necks, no crazy Sierra or terrified Cody.

Just the two of them.

It makes her heart race, and she hates it. She repeats her new mantra for the season.

_I am_ not _in love._

Alejandro enters the room, and Heather stiffens, the mantra growing more panicked.

_I am not in love, I am not in love, I am not in love!_

"Hola, Heather. Thank you for inviting me." He sits across from her calmly, gazing at her.

"Don't thank me. You know I just wanted those deranged love birds off my back. I didn't choose you, remember?" Heather crosses her arms. "You were just left over."

"Hey. No need to get defensive." Alejandro smirks that stupid confident smirk of his, and Heather wants to slap it off his face.

"I'm not being defensive!" she growls, looking away.

"Right." Alejandro's expression remains constant, like he thinks he knows more than her.

She hates it.

"I hate you." Heather spits out the words, standing up from the chair and walking away.

"Aw, I hate you, too." Alejandro picks up one of the in-flight magazines, flipping through it as if he doesn’t have a care in the world.

The words only serve to infuriate Heather more as she storms into the bathroom. Not the confessional one, of course; she's bound to say something stupid right now. She closes the lid of the toilet and sits on it, rubbing at her eyes fiercely. What to do, what to do? The casanova outside makes her beyond tongue-tied, which is difficult when she's supposed to be learning something from him.

Everyone on the show is easy to read, easy to toy with. Alejandro, on the other hand… He's smooth and confident, and has consistently identified and used all of the contestants insecurities. She hates to admit it, but he might be better than her at it.

The thought makes Heather shudder. Especially since her insecurity is tied a little too close to Alejandro himself. While she's used this to her advantage before-- seeing him slam into that hurdle was a joy like no other-- it can also cause distractions and… ick, feelings. Like making her heart pound until she's sure the entire cast can hear it. 

_Okay. Don't focus on that part, you moron. He's here to help with your strategy, so make it count._ Heather bumps her fist into her head a couple of times, trying to knock some sense into herself.

Alejandro is busy checking his nails when Heather stalks out of the bathroom, sitting across from him. He looks up with an exaggerated expression of distaste, then looks away.

Heather nearly strangles him where he sits. "Listen. I need a favour."

"Oh?" Alejandro leans in, an eyebrow raising.

Heather's hands ball into fists in her lap, and she takes a deep breath, before saying, "I think we should make an alliance. Final two." 

Alejandro rubs his chin thoughtfully, but it comes off as mocking. Heather swallows thickly, anger growing by the minute. Emotions barely in check, she tries again, "I’m being serious. I could easily convince the other two to vote you off next challenge." 

"I will have to think about it," Alejandro shrugs nonchalantly.

"What is there to think about, you oaf? You know I'm right,” Heather snaps, clearly impatient.

Alejandro's hand moves on top of her own, holding tightly onto it, and effectively rendering her speechless. He smiles-- no, smirks an evil smirk-- and says, "We will not get anywhere with that attitude, now, will we?"

Heather's face burns. She doesn't want to admit it, but it feels like her cheeks are on fire. If she loses her cool now, she might push him away, and it's not worth the risk.

Heather's hand stubbornly remains in his. "Y-You can't just…"

"Can't what, señorita?" Alejandro tilts his head slightly.

Heather grits her teeth, slowly pulling her hand away. "Stop acting like you're innocent! I am so on to you!" she snarls.

Alejandro uses his other hand, gripping hers more securely. "Or are you… into me?" He offers a wink, and that's the final straw for Heather.

“Would you stop with the stupid flirting? You clearly aren’t getting anywhere -- take a hint!” Heather blusters. The words come easily, but she finds herself unable to believe in them.

And with the expression on Alejandro’s face, he definitely doesn’t believe them either.

Despite that, Alejandro’s hand retreats, and he raises both of them above his head. “Okay, okay. Hint taken.”

Heather hugs herself, hands squeezing her bare arms. “Good.”

They sit in silence for a few heartbeats, before Alejandro finally speaks up, “You must be afraid of losing to Cody and Sierra if you’re offering up an alliance.”

“Of course not!” Heather immediately retorts.

“Then why?”

“It’s called strategy, you dimwit! You wouldn’t understand.” Heather waves a hand dismissively.

“In case you couldn’t tell, I am always strategizing, just as you are,” Alejandro points out. “It would not be such a bad idea to put our heads together.”

“Figuratively, I hope,” Heather mutters under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing! So, are you in, or not?”

Alejandro pauses for a moment, thinking, before saying, “No. I have good faith that we can make it without an alliance.”

“All that just to reject me? You make me sick.” Heather narrows her eyes.

"You are clearly deeply in love with me. You will not, and never will vote me off," Alejandro states matter-of-factly, as if the words are completely mundane.

Heather stares blankly for a moment. Is… Is that her heartbeat? Can he hear that? Her mantra nags at her in the back of her mind as she boils over, face heated. "You are such a snake!"

"Relax, dear Heather." Alejandro places a hand on her knee reassuringly, which she promptly slaps away. "Getting angry won't solve anything."

Heather merely makes an irritated grunt in response, leaving the room for the confessional in a huff without so much as another glance at Alejandro.

\---

"Alejandro is such a scumbag. I can't believe how fast the other girls fell for him. Especially Courtney… but then again, she always seems to pick bad boys. Anyway, I'm not about to grovel at his feet just because of his stupid handsome face. Unlike the other girls, I can actually keep it in check. I'm going to win. Not because of what the challenges are going to be, or how good I am at them. I'm going to win because he's clearly in love with me. The biggest weakness there is, really."

\---

Heather returns from the confessional in silence. The room is starting to get dark as the sun sets. She pads over to the seats as quietly as possible. 

Alejandro is wearing a sleep mask, breath rising and falling slowly. How long was she in the confessional? Oh, well. The world deserves to know just how slimy he is, and her near essay-length confessional will probably do it.

Despite the biting words that come to Heather's head, she finds herself sitting in the chair adjacent to him. She drums her fingers on the arm of the seat for a bit, making positively certain that Alejandro is actually asleep.

After no sign of movement for about five minutes, she leans over and oh-so-gently places her head against his shoulder, shutting her eyes and finally relaxing.

And in the dim light of the room as the last speck of light fades from view, Alejandro smiles.


End file.
